Hello,
My wife and I have decided to start a small laying flock next spring. It's been 35 years since I raised any chickens. My experiences started back in high school, (1977) when I got a job collecting eggs and other various jobs in a large laying house operation. I can't remember the number of birds but the house was nearly 300 feet long and had four double sided, 3 tier cage banks if I remember correctly. The owners were very progressive, and during my time there they began to build a methane digester for the manure, and added a grading facility to grade their eggs in-house. I learned a lot there. For an FFA project, I bought 50 hens from my employer (hybrid Leghorns) and had a successful operation of my own, until I ultimately graduated and moved out. We now live in the same house where I lived back then. The hen house is still here, but has been gutted out and converted to a tool shed and is no longer suitable for hens so I'm doing my research as to what type of coop we want for 6-8 birds. We're looking at Plymouth Rocks possibly but still researching. This forum is a wealth of information and I certainly need a refresher course.
My wife and I have decided to start a small laying flock next spring. It's been 35 years since I raised any chickens. My experiences started back in high school, (1977) when I got a job collecting eggs and other various jobs in a large laying house operation. I can't remember the number of birds but the house was nearly 300 feet long and had four double sided, 3 tier cage banks if I remember correctly. The owners were very progressive, and during my time there they began to build a methane digester for the manure, and added a grading facility to grade their eggs in-house. I learned a lot there. For an FFA project, I bought 50 hens from my employer (hybrid Leghorns) and had a successful operation of my own, until I ultimately graduated and moved out. We now live in the same house where I lived back then. The hen house is still here, but has been gutted out and converted to a tool shed and is no longer suitable for hens so I'm doing my research as to what type of coop we want for 6-8 birds. We're looking at Plymouth Rocks possibly but still researching. This forum is a wealth of information and I certainly need a refresher course.
